Rescue at Cheney Lake ends in drowning

A Wichita man drowned after helping his friend to safety Saturday in the Sailboat Cove area of Cheney Lake.

The man was found almost three hours after he was reported missing by family and friends, according to Mike Satterlee, park ranger at Cheney State Park.

The victim was not identified Saturday night; however Satterlee said he was in his late teens or early 20s. He was with a group of about 10 family and friends, who were swimming together between the North Loop and Sail Boat Cove. He was not wearing a life jacket.

"He was helping someone else at the time," Satterlee said, when asked if he considered the victim a hero. "He was successful in helping the other person. He did a good job today."

At about 5 p.m. an emergency call was made from the Ninnescah Yacht Club and Sailing Association to Reno County Dispatch that a person was missing in the water. Several units with Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and Cheney Fire Department arrived immediately and began searching with divers and using a boat equipped with side-scan sonar. It was the sonar that located the body.

The water was between 6 to 7 feet deep. Windy conditions or fatigue could have played a part in the drowning, Satterlee said, but that was all speculation. A complete investigation will be done both by Wildlife and Parks and the Reno County Sheriff's Department. There was no indication of alcohol use.

After the body was retrieved from the lake, an ambulance arrived on the scene to treat a family member.

"It's shocking to get this kind of news," Satterlee said. The ambulance arrived for preventive measures.

"The currents were terrible today," said Tiffany Bailey, Pratt, who was camping with her family at the lake for the weekend. She was watching the search for the victim from the shore.

"You think the water is going one way and underneath it's going another way. Despite the white caps, she said the lake had been busy with sail boats and parasailers.

Satterlee said that anytime a lake has a river channel it's possible to find different currents. He declined to comment on why there seemed to be so many drownings at Cheney. But, he said the best way to ensure safety was to wear a life jacket.

"You can be the best swimmer in the world," Satterlee said. "But you should still wear a life jacket at the lake."

Two years ago at and leading up to the Fourth of July weekend, three people drowned at Cheney Lake in less than a two-week span.